Author: Kara Barbieri
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: 3 November 2020
Pages: 320
Format: eBook - PDF
Genre: Fantasy
Source: ARC via NetGalley
The Hunt is over but the War has just begun.
Against all odds, Janneke has survived the Hunt for the Stag--but all good things come with a cost. Lydian might be dead, but he took the Stag with him. Janneke now holds the mantle, while Soren, now her equal in every way, has become the new Erlking. Janneke's powers as the new Stag has brought along haunting visions of a world thrown into chaos and the ghost of Lydian taunts her with the riddles he spoke of when he was alive.
When Janneke discovers the truth of Lydian and his madness, she's forced to see her tormentor in a different light for the first time. The world they know is dying and Lydian may have been the only person with the key to saving it.
I really loved The White Stag, so I had high expectations for Goblin King. Sadly the book didn't quite meet them. Whereas the story in the first book captivated me, this one failed to hold my interest. It felt like a monster-per-chapter tale that just wanted to introduce every creature from Norse myth. What bugged me most, though, was the repetition. Several times, information we had already been told was rehashed again as one character explained it to another who hadn't been there the first time. On one occasion the same story/information was told on three separate occasions. This kind of thing is extremely dull for readers and suggests the need for further editing. That's not to say the book didn't have any good points. Some of the battle scenes were entertaining, and I liked the fact that Janneke and Soren were dealing with new issues and both showed flaws in their characters that they fought to overcome. Second books in series can sometimes be a bit hit and miss, so my lacklustre feelings towards this one won't necessarily stop me from reading the next installment, but it is a shame Goblin King couldn't quite match the excellence of The White Stag.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment